Forestluv

This is such a key point. . . It’s easy to get lulled into a sense of “I’ve pretty much got it figured out”. I often remind myself I know an infinitesimal amount in the big picture. Less than one quadrillionth of one quadrillionth. Yet, the mind can subconsciously assume that infinitesimal amount is pretty much it. Many minds can be aware of this happening in others, yet lack awareness of it happening within their own mind. In the Ox analogy, it maight be like catching a look at the tail and assuming that’s pretty much it. With this assumption, the mind may argue against others that are trying to describe other aspects of the Ox.

No. Even the word “empty” is saying too much. This is why consistent practice is so important.

Empty.

It’s all empty.

Who knows? You could find out which works best for you. You could meditate for 30min sessions daily for a month and then meditate for 60min sessions daily for a month. Then see if there is a difference for you.

Dunning-Kruger effect

A person does not become enlightened. Without that assumption, it’s like asking “Can something occur within occurrence?” What occurs is occurrence.

At a point in my development, “paranormal” phenomena began to arise. Some may use terms like channels, energy frequencies, hyper-intuition, hyper-empathy, multiple dimensions etc. Yet for me, these “senses” are cloudy and crude. It seems like they are unevolved “abilities’. Perhaps a metophor might be that years ago our vision was crude - we could only sense light/dark and basic outlines of objects. At times, I’ve tried to bring clarity to these abilities. Yet, I’ve never had the sense that “I” get to use it as a tool toward what I think is good. It’s more like they appear and just do their thing.

That is super cool. I’m at an intermediate Spanish level - I’d love to be able to process and discuss existential topics in Spanish. Yet, I can’t imagine teaching it in a foreign language. That blows my mind ? ?

That’s beautiful ♥️ ? And within the magnificence, there are many beautiful spaces

Great. Perhaps the mind can further relax, let go of the “knowing has been and is” part and sit within abiding prescence.

A mind conditioned into thought tends to be very attached/identified as thinking within a personal storyline. For such a mind, I think a process of de-identification is useful. This can be an arduous process that can take years. It’s not enough for the mind to think “ahhh yes, the self is just a construct. I know that”. It goes much deeper into direct experience and embodiment. For minds strongly attached to materialism and personification, I’d recommend lots of practice to establish distance between observer and object. Spend time in immaterial nonvetbal spaces. At the extreme, a mind may come to know two realms; dual and nondual. For a while, it may feel like the mind is “dancing between two worlds” - flipping back and forth between dual and nondual mind states. At this point, the mind can begin integrating dual and nondual into a holistic state of being. This is all related to the op about movie characters and pixels on a screen.

What might happen if you placed all the words aside for a while and simply sat down and observed? Without words. Without thought. Simple awareness of being.

This is all very reasonable, yet also contracted. This is why the practices are so important for expansion. Logical thinking can be like clouds that obscure clear witnessing. Through practice, the logical/analytical/reasonable thinking mind can relax. This allows for a stillness / emptiness to be revealed. Ime, yoga, breath work and meditation are foundational practices. Other tools such as self inquiry and psychedelics can be useful as well. Yet, I think it’s best to establish a foundation before utilizing advanced tools.

As with a healthy ecosystem, multiple components integrate together within a holistic mode of being. Direct experience is really important for this integration. Through practice, the mind can relax, let go and uncover. A busy mind is like clouds that obscure awareness. This is within trans-personal domains. Holding on to personalities tends to be a distraction from consciousness expansion.

Just a reminder: please refrain from using ALL CAPS in posts.

That is how it appears from a rational perspective. It is not to say that what is being expressed is “wrong”. It is to say it is a contracted perspective. A logical / rational mode of being is merely one mode. The “problem” with being confined to this rational mode is that the mind will misinterpret post-rational modes as being irrational or childish. A classic example is equating advanced spiritual levels with the immature mythical/magical level of religion/spirituality. A mind confined to rational thought, and which lacks direct experience of post-rational being, will be unable to differentiate between the two.

That is certainly a possibility at an immature stage . The mind can create an “enlightenment story”. As well, that is how it would appear to a resistant mind at a rational stage of spiritual development. A mind contracted within rational thought will view both irrational and post-rational as irrational. The main dynamic I sense here is attachment/identification to a rational framework. There is “something” beyond/prior to that framework that hasn’t been revealed. This is one reason why direct experience is so important for spirituality maturity. When used properly, a variety of techniques are useful including yoga, psychedelics and self inquiry. Leo’s latest video describes the self inquiry practice.

I’d go 150ug.

Indeed they are, so juicy.

@SoonHei The illusory personality dynamic does not become enlightened. One might consider the personality to be within enlightenment/awareness/consciousness/reality. There is simply enlightenment/awareness/consciousness/reality. Are Tolle and Spira enlightenment/awareness/consciousness/reality? Of course. Yet, so is everything - it’s not like it’s some sort of achievement.

Indeed. It is unpalatable to the ego.

Sounds very straight-forward!

Those features are as real as bird chips, intuition, the moon and paper clips. No need to throw shade on any thing. It’s the identification and attachment to those features that lead to a contracted mind state, not the features themselves.

@Preetom I’m using the term “development” in a post-rational, trans-personal, nonlinear context - not the traditional use of “development” in a self-based context within a storyline. In the more mature context, there is no “person” developing. I found the Shankara description interesting in that they seem to give benchmark characteristics within spiritual maturation.